This invention relates to sealing arrangements and, more particularly, to sealing arrangements for preventing the ingress of fluid into a location about a cable, such as into a telephone wire enclosure.
Extensive numbers of telephone wire enclosures are located in harsh environmental settings, including sub-grade locations that are under water or susceptible to flooding. Fluid is prevalent in these settings, and there is great concern in preventing the ingress of fluid into the enclosures, which may denigrate, or altogether destroy, the telephone wire connections within the enclosure. The concern is even greater where fiber optic cables are used.
One of the most susceptible locations for fluid ingress is about a cable at the point of entry of the cable into the enclosure. To restrict the ingress of fluid into an enclosure at a cable""s point of entry, seals have been used in the prior art. The various prior art seals provide different degrees of sealing over extended periods of time, depending upon such factors as the extent of plastic deformation caused by changes in temperature, excessive and/or uneven stresses, etc.
To overcome shortcomings in the prior art, a sealing arrangement and various slitted sealing members are provided for use in limiting the ingress of fluid into a location about a cable.
The sealing arrangement includes a tubular fitting, a sealing member, and a nut formed to mount onto the fitting. The sealing member has two coaxially-arranged portions, with one portion being smaller than the other portion such that an unobstructed contact surface is defined on the larger portion. The larger portion also is formed with a tapered surface that engages the fitting, preferably in shape-mating engagement, with the sealing member being at least partially disposed within the fitting. Upon tightening the nut onto the fitting, a compression surface of the nut engages the contact surface of the sealing member such that the sealing member is compressed and radially expanded to tightly press against a cable passing through the sealing member, as well as, to press tightly against the fitting, to define a fluid-proof seal about the cable.
Various slitted sealing member designs are provided, which can be modified to be used with the sealing arrangement of the subject invention, or in other sealing arrangements. First, a sealing member is provided formed with at least one slit having circumferentially-offset portions. Second, a sealing member is provided having overlapping arms. Third, a sealing member is provided which is formed by an elongated member helically wound to define a tubular body. Fourth, a sealing member is provided having at least one serpentitious slit extending its axial length. The sealing members can be used to seal one cable or simultaneously a plurality of cables. Each of the slitted sealing members have portions thereof, that are adjacent to the respective slits, which are forcibly displaceable to expose a cable-receiving channel. The cable-receiving channel may then be forced onto a cable, thereby facilitating mounting of the sealing member onto the cable, without having to thread the sealing member the full length of the cable.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings, which are not to scale, are designed solely for the purpose of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims.